Africa

Thematic Maps:
Directions: Click on the different types of thematic maps listed below to go to a website with that map. Color your map according to the map you see. Use the same colors. Make a key for your map so you know what the colors represent.

Religion
European Colonization
Regions, Rivers, and Borders


Researching Culture:
Directions: Go to the following website to access the information you need to complete the project assigned to you.

Activity 1: African Myths
Directions; On a piece of paper, copy the following elements of myths/ folklore, and use the website to find a myth of your choice and use it to complete the following 5 objectives.

4 Elements of Myths and Folklore:
- Importance placed on nature/wildlife

[[image:../images/small_bullet.gif width="3" height="3"]] May explain an historic event

[[image:../images/small_bullet.gif width="3" height="3"]] May contain moral instruction

[[image:../images/small_bullet.gif width="3" height="3"]] Entertainment value

1. Write a summary of the myth, or story.
2. Explain how the elements of the African myth, or story were incorporated into the myth they chose.
3. What was entertaining about the myth, or story?
4. What did the myth, or story teach them about African culture?
5. How could they apply the myth, or story to their own life?

Activity 2: Everyday Life

1. Working in pairs, students select one article/story from the following Web sites:

http://pbskids. org/africa/ myworld/
Contains photo essays by young people from Ghana, South Africa, Kenya, and Uganda.
http://www.pbs.org/ africa/explore/
Contains links to profiles of sixteen ethnic groups from eight significant regions in Africa.
http://www.washingtonpost .com/wp-srv/ inatl/longterm /africanlives /front.htm
Profiles eight people from Africa as they live through everyday challenges.

2. Using the article they selected, create an interview.

3. One student will take the role of the interviewer, and generate a list of questions that touch on the important information in the article.

4. The other student will be the person who wrote, or who the article was written about. This student will answer the questions that the interviewer has written

Activity 3: Indigenous Religions
1. Go to the teacher go get your assinged region to research at Explore the Regions at the PBS AFRICA Web site.
http://www.pbs. org/africa /explore. Go to that region's people section, and click on the religion section for their chosen region's people.

2. Write the details of the religion on individual index cards.

3. Write a summary of the information from their site.

4. Create a class chart that compares and contrasts the religions that they researched

Second Activity Although more than 25 percent of Zimbabweans attend Christian churches, Zimbabweans have incorporated elements of their traditional practices in their beliefs. At the core of these traditions, is the importance of ancestral spirits, and their relationship in Zimbabweans' daily lives. In this lesson students will learn about the Shonas' burial beliefs and traditions.

1. In this activity you will read about Shona burial traditions on the following web site, and take notes on the details that you think are interesting and important.
http://www.zambuko.com/mbirapage/resource_guide/ pages/culture/shona_religion.html

2. A village member has died. Write a story about the event, incorporating what you have learned about death and dying in the Shona culture.